UPDATED! Thursday, September 9, 2010: RESTORING JUSTICE and a HEART of INTEGRITY to SOUTHWEST BAPTIST UNIVERSITY

 ____________________

RESTORING JUSTICE and a HEART of INTEGRITY to
SOUTHWEST BAPTIST UNIVERSITY

 ____________________

Within the next several days, 

the Comprehensive Compensation and Care Package 

  (see here)

will be delivered to the 

Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board.

Details to be posted 
on Sunday, September 5, 2010.

Your prayers are encouraged and appreciated.

__________UPDATED!__________

Sunday, September 5, 2010 about 12:00 noon

and Thursday, September 9, 2010, about 7:30 pm

____________________ 

Apparently, Dr. Ray Leininger,
the retired pastor of First Baptist Church of Bolivar,
has undergone successful cancer surgery 

and will begin chemotherapy.

We earnestly request prayers 

of healing, support and care for him.

Dr. Leininger was substantially involved 

in these events 

and was to be substantially involved 

in this resolution;

therefore,
we have made several adjustments to the  

Comprehensive Compensation and Care Package
(see here), 
details of which will be posted beginning
Friday, September 10, through
Monday, September 13.

Your prayers are appreciated.

 ____________________

THIS JUST IN: Clinical Markers Confirm Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and Validate Environmental Medicine Approach

There is an incredible story to tell here: a miraculous story of God's wisdom and care ... and a miraculous dream.

We can't wait to tell that story!

But, for now, we will have would like to share this wonderful news of confirmation for all of our friends suffering from chemical injury or chemical sensitivity.

_________________

MCSA NEWS
August 2010, Volume 5, Issue 8

Clinical Markers Confirm Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and Validate Environmental Medicine Approach (here)

_________________

For those who have suffered, often in isolation, from the effects of chemical injury:

Know for a certainty that the Lord never forgot you.  

You were never alone.

God was working (and is working still) in the hearts of good people to find the biological mechanism for this disease and injury and to find the cure. 

_________________

EVERY DAY IS CHRISTMAS! 

_________________

A GATHERING OF SINNERS AND SAINTS: The September Emergency Meeting of the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board

A GATHERING OF SINNERS AND SAINTS:  

The September Emergency Meeting 

of the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board

As the students of Southwest Baptist University 

return for the Fall semester, 

Marie will begin a series of (initially private)

correspondences 

with the

Student Government Association,

the Omnibus

(SBU's student newspaper),

and other student organizations.

These correspondences
will address

Southwest Baptist University's 

accreditation issues

and other matters pertinent 

to the investigation (see here) of 

Southwest Baptist University's governance 

by the 

Missouri Baptist Convention.

Over the next few weeks, 
we will be posting portions of those 
correspondences ... and the student responses.

Your prayers for all involved are appreciated!

DARK DAWN: Sacred Place, Sacred People, Sacred Duty - Marie's Letter to MBC Exec. Director Dr. David Tolliver and the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board Requesting Emergency Meeting

Monday, August 16, 2010

 
From the Desk of Marie O’Hara
Mailing Address
Bolivar, MO  65613

 


Dr. David Tolliver, Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Director and the members of the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board   
% Missouri Baptist Convention
400 East High Street  
Jefferson City, MO 65101     (Fax: 573-635-0904)
           
Dear Dr. David Tolliver and members of the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board:
       
There is a moment within the darkness of night, in the blackness of night, when the light seems to be entirely extinguished – when the sable night tosses her head of shimmering stars ... and holds her breath.

It is the darkness before the dawn.

“Be still, and know that I am God,” the Psalmist has written.

And, perhaps because I was born at such a pause within the night, this is when I meditate and pray, holding my thoughts in the still of the night, waiting within the timeless abyss of darkness for the first glimmer of dawn ... for the transformation of the First Light.

That darkness, like the night holding her breath, is a time for transformation, for the renewal of Life.

When I was poisoned by pesticides on the campus of Southwest Baptist University on September 26, 1988, I experienced that abyss of darkness in a new way:  with lungs burning and collapsing from the inhalation of the misting pesticides and solvents, I struggled, floundering, submerged and drowning in the inky, cold blackness, gasping for air ... for one, warm breath of light.

I still remember the dark, untransformed terror of those moments:  they still wake me from restless nightmares.

It has taken years to learn to be still in that darkness, to know that in that last drawn breath, I must wait, wait in the abyss to find the God of darkness, to wait for the dawn.

For it is within that last uncertain breath that I must forgive those who torment me.  

Whether it be a taunting worker, who has just disconnected my electricity and, therefore, my air filtration systems, or Baptist neighbors, who spray their yards with pesticides or burn their trash, fully knowledgeable of the consequences for my health, or a sneering landlord, who believes I have had enough chances and enough time, I must draw that last, collapsing breath and wait in the dark stillness, as the muscles that control my breathing cease to function, as dark unconsciousness enfolds me, as the stillness, like the darkest night before the dawn, engulfs me.

I wait, wait within the darkness for the transformation, for the fiery dawn of new life.

For regardless of my fate, I will be transformed – either by the invigorating, fresh light of breath, the aquamarine light breaking like a summer day, or by the Transforming Fire, the Resurrecting Dawn, as I waken into a New Life, a life hereafter.

I must wait in those dark moments, wait for the Light, for the Life ... and I will be transformed.

On April 13, 2010, I wrote to you and the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board regarding the ongoing moral, ethical, and legal issues at Southwest Baptist University and within the Missouri Baptist Convention. 

At that time, I indicated our eagerness to engage in mutually constructive dialogue by means of an online educational forum, known as the Educare Forum. 

However, in the months since then, I have realized, through a series of difficult incidents, that this method will not be effective or practical; it will not provide a point of transformation, which was my true objective.

For many within the Missouri Baptist community, this can only be understood as an exercise in darkness, with no hope of solace, no coming Light -- only a plunge into the blind, uncomprehending night of terror.

The Children of Light should not be instruments of terror and fear, for does not perfect love cast out fear?

The people of the Missouri Baptist Convention are a sacred people; Southwest Baptist University is a sacred place.

Therefore, once again, because the Missouri Baptist Convention affirms a controlling interest in Southwest Baptist University, I must ask you to preform your sacred duty in assisting to transform this darkness into Light, death into Life -- to oversee, execute, and enforce any necessary and judicious disciplinary action, aiding those who are lost in darkness and injustice.

As previously stated, my concerns involve the harm done to me, my family, and my friends by the employees, administrative and governing officials, and supporters of Southwest Baptist University and the Missouri Baptist Convention, who willfully aided, abetted, counseled, and induced the commission of acts resulting in: 
•    slander, defamation and the malevolent and formulated provocation of hostility, ill-will, and hatred;
•    sexual harassment, molestation, humiliation, and discrimination; 
•    physical injury, intimidation, and abuse;
•    multiple instances of actual and threatened retaliation;
•    the fallacious invasion of privacy and violation of confidentiality;
•    forgery or tampering with academic, medical and other records;
•    subornation of perjury and witness tampering;
•    obstruction of justice and abuse of/denial of due process;
•    financial duplicity, extortion, and insurance fraud,
•    and the abuse and negligence of administrative, executive, pastoral, and ministerial functions, privilege and authority.

Additionally, these claims regard the actions of the employees, administrative and governing officials, and supporters of Southwest Baptist University and the Missouri Baptist Convention, who permitted, facilitated, encouraged, and rewarded others in: 
•    the deliberate and repeated infliction of physical damage, pain, and suffering;
•    the calculated pattern and practice of the imposition of social, psychological, and spiritual distress, anguish and suffering;
•    the coordinated conspiracy to defraud, slander, and cause physical, financial, or other harm in collaboration with officials of the Southern Baptist Convention, and other church officials (both SBC churches and others),
•    and the ongoing conspiracy to defraud, slander, and cause discriminatory abuse and physical, financial, and other harm based on disability, religious belief, and/or gender in collaboration with local business persons, community members, politicians, and city, county, and state officials.
 
Due to the grievous and persistent nature of these concerns, I now ask for a full investigation of these issues -- beginning with an emergency meeting of the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board members, which I am requesting convened no later than the middle of September 2010.

Further, I request that these issues be publicly addressed during the annual meeting of the Missouri Baptist Convention in October 2010.

Between now and the mid-September meeting, I would like to present a Comprehensive Compensation and Care Package to the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board – a plan which will settle any outstanding claims against the Missouri Baptist Convection, Southwest Baptist University, and the First Baptist Church of Bolivar, Missouri.

To facilitate this objectives, I am asking that Dr. Freddie Pike, who is Minister of Education and Administration at First Baptist Church, Bolivar, MO, be appointed as a Special Envoy to you, Dr. David Tolliver, and to the members of the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board.

Dr. Freddie Pike is nobly credentialed and well able to preform this service with graceful aplomb, wry intelligence, and a sense of humor. This week, therefore,  I will be in communication with Dr. Pike to organization and coordinate the requisite arrangements.

I look forward to cooperating with you as you preform your sacred duties.

In His Transforming Light, Justice and Mercy,

Marie O’Hara

_______________________

See Also: Monday, September 13, 2010, about 6:00 pm

Resolving the Irreconcilable: Is There a "Soul-ution" for Southwest Baptist University and the Missouri Baptist Convention? [corrected at 8:00 pm] (here)

_______________________

Update!: EVERY DAY CHRISTMAS! SHOWERS OF BLESSINGS: LIVING EXPENSES (NEW BLOG)

EVERY DAY CHRISTMAS!

SHOWERS OF BLESSINGS: LIVING EXPENSES

________*________

 Any individual may give anonymously
to Marie O'Hara's bank account at:
REGIONS BANK
340 S Springfield
Bolivar MO 65613
Phone: (417) 326-2428 

Please speak to the Bank Manager, 

AMBER MACE.

________*________

Those who would like to assist Marie
with living expenses 

(housing, utilities, adaptive equipment,

nutritional and medical expenses)

through a church are invited to contact:

DR. FREDDIE PIKE ,
the Minister of Education and Administration,

First Baptist Church of Bolivar

316 North Main Street

Bolivar, MO 65613

Phone: (417) 326-2431

________*________

OR 

PASTOR GARY ANKROM
First Assembly of God
1320 S. Springfield Ave.
Bolivar, MO 65613
Phone:  (417) 326-6006

________*________

OR

PASTOR JOHN MARSHALL,

the First Vice President of the 

Missouri Baptist Convention,

Second Baptist Church 

3111 East Battlefield

(who have a "mission" church" 

in Bolivar, MO)

Springfield, MO 65804

Phone:  (417) 887-3111

________*________
OR
 

Elder JOHN CREDILLE
(417) 326-6452

Elder JOHN WHEELER

  (417) 326-3223

Wellspring Fellowship

2110 Spring Pl.
Bolivar, MO 65613
Phone:  (417) 326-2897
________*________
OR

 PASTOR DANNY VANCE

Mt. Olive Baptist Church
4079 Highway D
Bolivar, MO 65613
(417) 326-2805

________*________ 

**SEE NEW BLOG** 

EVERDAY CHRISTMAS! 
SHOWERS OF BLESSINGS:
LIVING EXPENSES 

________*________

Also, see: 
CHRISTMAS EVERY DAY FEAST! 

Local, Organic Foods at New Life Natural Food Store

________*________ 

Then he said to them, 

“Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, 

and send portions to those 
for whom nothing is prepared; 

for this day is holy to our Lord. 

Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
(Nehemiah 8:10 KJV)

________*________ 

And, 
CHRISTMAS EVERY DAY FEAST: 
Diamond Organics Will Supply a Feast of
Organic Veggies and Fruits

________*________ 


And, 

KEEPING THE LIGHTS BURNING: 
Utilities Arrangements
________*________  

SACRED PLACE, SACRED PEOPLE, SACRED DUTY: Marie's Letter to Dr. David Tolliver Requesting an Emergency Meeting of the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board in Mid-September

SACRED PLACE, SACRED PEOPLE, SACRED DUTY:  Marie's Letter to the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Director Dr. David Tolliver Requesting an Emergency Meeting of the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board in Mid-September

From Marie's letter:

As previously stated, my concerns involve the harm done to me, my family, and my friends by the employees, administrative and governing officials, and supporters of Southwest Baptist University and the Missouri Baptist Convention, who willfully aided, abetted, counseled, and induced the commission of acts resulting in: 
•    slander, defamation and the malevolent and formulated provocation of hostility, ill-will, and hatred;
•    sexual harassment, molestation, humiliation, and discrimination; 
•    physical injury, intimidation, and abuse;
•    multiple instances of actual and threatened retaliation;
•    the fallacious invasion of privacy and violation of confidentiality;
•    forgery or tampering with academic, medical and other records;
•    subornation of perjury and witness tampering;
•    obstruction of justice and abuse of/denial of due process;
•    financial duplicity, extortion, and insurance fraud,
•    and the abuse and negligence of administrative, executive, pastoral, and ministerial functions, privilege and authority.

Additionally, these claims regard the actions of the employees, administrative and governing officials, and supporters of Southwest Baptist University and the Missouri Baptist Convention, who permitted, facilitated, encouraged, and rewarded others in: 
•    the deliberate and repeated infliction of physical damage, pain, and suffering;
•    the calculated pattern and practice of the imposition of social, psychological, and spiritual distress, anguish and suffering;
•    the coordinated conspiracy to defraud, slander, and cause physical, financial, or other harm in collaboration with officials of the Southern Baptist Convention, and other church officials (both SBC churches and others),
•    and the ongoing conspiracy to defraud, slander, and cause discriminatory abuse and physical, financial, and other harm based on disability, religious belief, and/or gender in collaboration with local business persons, community members, politicians, and city, county, and state officials.

Posted Monday morning, August 16, 2010:

Dark Dawn: Sacred Place, Sacred People, Sacred Duty - Marie's Letter to MBC Exec. Director Dr. David Tolliver and the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board Requesting Emergency Meeting (here).

TOO BIZARRE: Marie's Landlord Threatens -- in Writing -- to Stage a Police (Paramilitary-Style?) Raid ... to Repair an Exterior Storm Window Broken During Renovation (No Kidding)

TOO BIZARRE:  Marie's Landlord Threatens -- in Writing -- to Stage a Police (Paramilitary-Style?) Raid ... to Repair an Exterior Storm Window Broken During Renovation  

No, we are not kidding.

This is just getting too bizarre.

And, this kind of incident is becoming too common to be comical, anymore.  

The window in question, which was accidentally broken by falling debris during installation of the house guttering on Wednesday, July 21, 2010, is an old-style, exterior storm window, which can ONLY be replaced from the outside. 

On the day the damage occurred (at 8:09 pm that evening, to be precise), this situation was calmly explained to the landlords -- via a private blog kept by Marie and her friends to communicate and log the upkeep of the manor house.

The landlords and their eldest daughter arrived the next morning (Thursday), inspected the damaged window and the newly-installed guttering, left a rather nasty letter, and departed in the heavily-laden van, apparently returning to California, after a tortuous month (plus) of renovations on the manor house.

However, this past Friday, August 6, Marie received a letter, dated August 3, from the landlord, Art Martinez, listing four "choices" for repairing the window.

The "choices" are given below (quoted exactly from the letter):

     1.  Have the police break in (at your expense.)

     2.  We call and get help from the local church.

     3.  Have Randy drive down and pick the lock (at your expense, of course)  That's two trips, one to measure and one to install.  He charges $40 per hour, plus gas expense.

     4. Someone we know in K. C. has a key.  He charges same as Randy.

The company has already plainly acknowledged responsibility for the broken window!  

They have made arrangements to replace the single-pane window -- from the outside -- this week.

Remember: no one, including the window company, has ever requested (and certainly was not denied) interior access to repair the exterior storm window.

The four "choices" presented in the August 3 letter were the first communication Marie had concerning the window -- although, as stated, she had already reported the incident in detail (including the exact time and nature of the damage) in the private Manor House blog.

That second "choice" of the four (We call and get help from the local church.) wouldn't be suspiciously manipulative or anything, would it?  (Apparently, this refers to the First Baptist Church of Bolivar, the church of former Southwest Baptist University CEO/President, Congressman Roy Blunt, who is currently running for the United States Senate.  The landlords are Southern Baptists and current members of Saddleback Church, the largest Southern Baptist Church in the United States, where Rick Warren pastors.)

Just to emphasize the menacing nature of the threat, her landlord added a post script:

P. S.:  The window may be in by the time you receive this info.  Please note [word underlined]:  Without communication, in an emergency, the means of entry is our choice.

It is hard to classify this as a simple misunderstanding; clearly, this is intentional and malicious harassment.

But why?

Simple meanness, or something more calculated, and potentially more ominous ... or dangerous. 

We will be updating the situation on a regular basis over the next several weeks.

THE DEAL: PURCHASING PEOPLE, BREAKING BONDS, and ENDING FRIENDSHIPS; Christian Love in Action at the First Baptist Church of Bolivar and the Missouri Baptist Convention Churches

THE DEAL:  PURCHASING PEOPLE, BREAKING BONDS and ENDING FRIENDSHIPS; Christian Love in Action at the First Baptist Church of Bolivar and the Missouri Baptist Convention Churches

.. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. 

                                                (1 Timothy 6:10)

That certainly has proven true at Southwest Baptist University and within the churches of the Missouri Baptist Convention.

This week, after a series of bizarre, written threats and physical abuses, Marie has ended (or, rather, acknowledged the obvious termination of) her friendship with her landlords, Art and Shirlee Martinez, and their adult children, Deeann, Jolee, and Matthew.  [See previous posts:  (here) (here) and (here) ]

There was a time, not too distant, when Marie considered this family to be as close as kin -- a second family, after the death of her own parents and her sister.

Now, that love and trust is tainted ... and cannot be reconciled.

Though their friendship has endured a myriad of trials and tribulations for almost a quarter of a century; ultimately, it is clear that the family has made a "deal" with the Missouri Baptist Convention and the local church, the First Baptist Church of Bolivar.

What is that deal?

Marie's life has been purchased; she has been bought and sold to the Missouri Baptist Convention.   

Apparently, the tacit agreement is that Marie's landlords will be awarded "compensation" for Marie's tenancy -- regardless if Marie should "accidentally" meet her "demise" before completing the supposed "Restorative Justice Process" with Southwest Baptist University, the First Baptist Church of Bolivar, Missouri, and the Missouri Baptist Convention.

Of course, human nature being what it is, this financial arrangement leaves little incentive (or tolerance) for allowing Marie to live.  

Predictably, Marie has been forced to suffer systematic assault and peril over the last few months (and, indeed, over the last several years).

As the betrayal became more evident, Marie withdrew from recent negotiations with First Baptist Church of Bolivar, precipitating a bewildering barrage of retaliation from her beloved landlords -- vicious slanders and various forms of abuse, intimidation, threat, and insult.

The Southern Baptist ethic demands abject obeisance and does not tolerate dissidence well -- most particularly from a women (and a disabled and "useless" woman, at that). 

Marie will be punished, she knows, for daring to speak, for daring to ask for Justice from the utterly unjust and the vengeful.

We grieve for this loss, not only for Marie personally, but for the Christian community as a whole; for, until this last few years, this family was praised, as providing an heroic example of noble character and self-sacrifice.

This appears, unfortunately, to no longer be the case. 

Is this a misunderstanding?   Is there some other explanation?  We wish there were; for, without doubt, Marie has not parted this friendship easily or lightly.


There is much more to say ... and this will be continued later (see next post).

UPDATE! POLITICAL POISON AND WORSHIPING OTHER GODS: Marie's Letter to the Student Government Association of Southwest Baptist University (to be Posted on August 18)

The letter described below, which has been prepared for a number of months, will be posted on Wednesday, August 18, on  the day when the freshmen students arrive on campus for the Fall semester at Southwest Baptist University.

We believe that the "elders" of Southwest Baptist Unive4rsity and the Missouri  Baptist Convention have failed us individually and have failed Southwest Baptist University as an institution of higher learning. 

It is time to leave behind the detrimental characteristics that so mark (and mar) this generation of leaders:  the political corruption, petty connivance and vitriolic squabbling, anti-intellectual and superstitious railings and fear mongering, misogynistic bigotry, hackneyed whining and excuse-making, and the self-indulgent, self-righteousness arrogance. 


While acknowledging the ample good that previous generations have brought to the Missouri Baptist Convention, it is time for the "elders" to grown up ... and time for a new generation to step up to leadership and bring a fresh and prophetic Voice to Southwest Baptist University, a Voice that that will worship in Spirit and in Truth.

It is time to seek a New Spirit at Southwest Baptist University.

 

 _______________________________________

After years of unsuccessful attempts to mediate a peaceful resolution, on Monday morning, August 2, Marie will publish her letter to the Southwest Baptist University Student Government Association, which details her reasons for demanding the immediate resignations of:  

• Southwest Baptist University President and CEO Dr. C. Pat Taylor and various staff and professors at Southwest Baptist University;
• Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Director Dr. David Tolliver, 
• the entire Board of Trustees of Southwest Baptist University, 
• and the entire Executive Board of the Missouri Baptist Convention.

She will also request sanctions against the deacons and pastors of First Baptist Church of Bolivar and against the former President and CEO of Southwest Baptist University, U. S. Rep. Roy Blunt, who is currently running for the U. S. Senate seat of the retiring Christopher "Kit" Bond of Missouri.

 _______________________________________

POLITICAL POISON AND WORSHIPING OTHER GODS: Marie's Letter to the Student Government Association of Southwest Baptist University

After years of unsuccessful attempts to mediate a peaceful resolution, on Monday morning, August 2, Marie will publish her letter to the Southwest Baptist University Student Government Association, which details her reasons for demanding the immediate resignations of:  

• Southwest Baptist University President and CEO Dr. C. Pat Taylor and various staff and professors at Southwest Baptist University;
• Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Director Dr. David Tolliver, 
• the entire Board of Trustees of Southwest Baptist University, 
• and the entire Executive Board of the Missouri Baptist Convention.

She will also request sanctions against the deacons and pastors of First Baptist Church of Bolivar and against the former President and CEO of Southwest Baptist University, U. S. Rep. Roy Blunt, who is currently running for the U. S. Senate seat of the retiring Christopher "Kit" Bond of Missouri.

Progress Report: Was the Rumor True? Has Marie Survived?

Was the rumor true?  (see post)

Yes and No.

There seems to have been a cross communication:  the former owner had given one set of instructions, whereas the new owner, their adult daughter, has issued a different decree.

Marie was caught in the middle of dueling construction projects.

Apparently, the gracious new owner has agreed to negotiate a peaceful, minister-mediated cessation to Marie's tenancy, following the completion of Marie's business with Southwest Baptist University and the Missouri Baptist Convention -- most probably during the October meeting of the Missouri Baptist Convention.

Yes, Marie has, thus far, survived.


However, Marie has been severely injured by several days of carelessness by workers on the site, incompetence so bizarre as to seem almost purposeful.


Your continued prayers for her health and well-being (and the health and well-being of her gracious landlords) are appreciated!

Rumor: Marie's Landlords Plan Enforced Eviction, Perhaps Intentional Execution, on Monday, July 19, 2010?

Evidence is mounting that Marie's landlords plan to forcibly evict Marie from her Bolivar, Missouri home on Monday, July 19 or within several days thereafter.

It is rumored around town that, rather than leave tomorrow (after a month of renovations, see previous post), Marie's landlords, who are staunch Republicans and members of the largest Southern Baptist Church, Saddleback Church in California, plan to begin the construction of a new addition adjacent to Marie's living quarters -- thus ending her tenancy, if not her life, in order to disrupt any further attempt at receiving compensation and Restorative Justice for the injuries and abuse she received at Southwest Baptist University. 

Evidently, the pressure is mounting on former Southwest Baptist University CEO/President and Trustee, Republican House Representative Roy Blunt, who is running in a neck-and-neck campaign against Democrat Robin Carnahan for the Missouri Senate seat of outgoing Senator Kit Bond.

From what is said around town, this action has been precipitated by Roy Blunt's recent touting (in several television commercials) of his leadership as the Southwest Baptist University president as a "positive" point in his bid for the Senate seat.  

Apparently, he does not wish revelations concerning his questionable leadership at the university to cast a cloud on his Senate ambitions, as even a switch in one of two percentage points could loose the election for him. 

Current SBU Trustees and local Republicans appear to be supporting the effort to end Marie's attempt to receive compensation.

We hope that this is rumor only, but the threat is so grave as to require this warning. 


Your prayers are requested and appreciated.

More details to follow, later this afternoon and this evening.

Justice Delayed: Renovation and Praying for Recovery

Marie is attempting to recover from injuries sustained during the renovation of her home during the last month.  

The three heat advisories in the last week (including today) and the elevated air pollution index, which has hovered in the high "yellow" range, edging close to the "orange" (unhealthy for sensitive groups) range for the last three weeks, have exacerbated health concerns.

We would appreciate your prayers for Marie's safety, well-being and health, especially on Monday (July 19), which is to be the last day of construction.

Thank you.

NEW INFORMATION!  Rumor: Marie's Landlords Plan Enforced Eviction, Perhaps Intentional Execution, on Monday, July 19, 2010?  (here)

Tues., June 22 Update: "Re-cycling" Opportunity as Restorative Justice Wins! - HELP, HARM or HINDRANCE?: A Crisis ... and, Perhaps, an Opportunity

 Update on Tuesday, June 22, 2010 about 6:00 am

We are not the first to observe that life seems to run in cycles, what was up becomes down, as events revolve in a circle, like a wheel, as events are "re-cycled". 

Several years ago, the opportunity for Restorative Justice in these matters seemed an imminent reality, an inevitable and God-ordained, resolution to a difficult situation.  

Then, through a series of events, the opportunity began to disintegrate entirely, as individuals (and even groups) associated with this venture disagreed, arguing vehemently about methods, personalities, and resources, thereby dissolving long-standing alliances and partnerships, while other participants could only look on in disbelieving bewilderment.

Once again, now, however, the wheel has revolved, the cycle has returned as gradually old alliances are mending, new friendships forming ... and the opportunity for Restorative Justice has reemerged!

The crisis, God-willing, has become an opportunity, as once again individuals begin, this week, to work toward the goal of resolution:  repentance, restitution ... and Restorative Justice and care for all those involved. 

Your prayers are appreciated!  

Details will be posted as soon as possible.

____________________________

Update on Friday, June 18, 2010 about 10:00 am

We are still hopeful -- but by no means certain -- that this could turn into an opportunity, rather than a crisis.  

We  will be posting more details over the next several days.

____________________________

HELP, HARM or HINDRANCE? 

Yesterday (Wednesday, June 18), Marie was presented with a crisis ... and an opportunity. 

Once again, this summer, Marie will be subjected to potentially harmful and injurious exposures in her home environment, which could possibly render her home uninhabitable, complicate her injuries, and incapacitate her to the point that she would not be able to relocate this summer.  

We will be posting further details later this evening..

We appreciate your prayers!

____________________________

THE MISSING ELEMENT - ACCOUNTABILITY: Dealing with the Long-Term Accreditation Issues at Southwest Baptist University ... and Providing a Parakletos

This week, once again, while attempting to provide a peaceful solution to this situation, Marie was confronted with the same obstacle that has so often hindered progress.

The obstruction is all too familiar: since the Missouri Baptist Convention has effectively rescinded responsibility and control of Southwest Baptist University by refusing repeatedly to take reasonable action against unethical (and even dangerous and criminal) conduct by the SBU and MBC administration, employees and Trustees, how are Southwest Baptist University's long-term accreditation issues to be addressed -- short of actually closing down the school and/or firing a large portion of the Trustees and staff?

If Southwest Baptist University and the Missouri Baptist Convention ever had the maturity and integrity to actually  come to terms with their failures and grapple with these issues, few doubt that they would emerge stronger, more vibrantly transformed, and more dedicated to the cause of Christ than ever before.

As it is, however, the SBU and MBC officials querulously and arrogantly shrug off every attempt at communication and berate, threaten, or abuse anyone who inquiries about these issues.

THE MISSING ELEMENT IS ACCOUNTABILITY.

After a series of incidents over the last several months, Marie is more than convinced that it is NOT her place to become interminably enmeshed in the lengthy and ongoing process of resolution. 

As she has made clear to SBU and MBC officials, she believes (and has firmly believed for years) that her calling is elsewhere and that she should relocate, as soon as possible. 

She has been alternately ignored, mocked, and brutalized for her efforts to encourage a peaceful reconciliation.

However, though persistent prayer and inquiry, the Holy Spirit has provided a method of assistive and supervisory direction and management.

This week, Marie has begun working with a seminary -- one of the oldest in the United States, which is affiliated with a prestigious ivy league university -- who would be competent to partner with SBU and the MBC to provide extended oversight and accountability as Southwest Baptist University and the Missouri Baptist Convention contend with an array of entrenched ethical, moral, and legal issues.

Affirming the place of the local church in resolving these issues, Marie will ask that the pastors of First Baptist Church of Bolivar, Missouri to collaborate with this seminary in arranging for this cooperative care and supervision for Southwest Baptist University.

For her part, as Marie stated in her letter (dated April 13, 2010 letter here) to Dr. David Tolliver, who is a recent Southwest Baptist University Trustee and the current executive director of the Missouri Baptist Convention, Marie affirms that she remains willing to participate in the Educare Forum.
 
Over the next several weeks, we will be posting daily bulletins as we track the emergence of this coalition, which has been assembled as a manifestation of Grace, to become a parakletos -- to advocate, to plead the cause, to act as an intercessor for Southwest Baptist University and the Missouri Baptist Convention as they struggle to overcome these challenges.